


torchic

by huphilpuffs



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Chickens, Established Relationship, M/M, Pets, no chickens were harmed in the making of this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 18:35:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17565839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huphilpuffs/pseuds/huphilpuffs
Summary: There’s a chick in Dan's kitchen.





	torchic

**Author's Note:**

> For the Flash Fest: DanAndPhilGAMES, inspired by Can Your Pet.

There’s a chick in his kitchen. 

There’s an actual, honest to god,  _ chick  _ in Dan’s bloody kitchen. 

And his boyfriend’s leaning over it, as though it’s a perfectly normal occurrence for there to be a bird standing on their kitchen counter. A dumb bird, too, because it just about walks off the edge, and Phil lets out a huff as he picks it up and sets it back down in the middle of the island, only for it to start walking towards the edge.

“Where the fuck did you get that?”

Phil looks up, eyes wide. The bird almost walks off the counter  _ again  _ before Phil remembers it’s there and scoops it into his hands.

“Uh, someone was giving it away,” he says. “On the street. I didn’t want a bad person to take it.”

Dan pinches the bridge of his nose. “So you just took a chick?”

“Yup,” says Phil. “Probably not my best choice.”

“Probably? What the fuck are we supposed to do with a chick?” He glances at it, its little yellow head poking out from between Phil’s hands. “What about when it turns into a grown up chicken?”

“I didn’t think of that at first,” says Phil. He’s petting the chickens head now. “But I did some research–”

“Oh no.”

“–and I think we should buy a coop.”

Dan sighs, and pinches his nose even harder because he’s probably going to end up with a headache.

And, maybe, a pet chicken.

\---

Phil puts the chick in a baking dish so it stops trying to fall to its death. 

And watching it walk around, pecking at the bird seed Phil brought in from outside, Dan can admit that perhaps it is rather cute. Maybe he can understand why Phil took it from whoever was giving it away on the street. It’s been five minutes and already Dan can’t imagine risking it going to a meat farm.

He shudders at the thought, reaching out to run his finger over the soft fluff on the chick’s head.

“I knew you’d like him!” says Phil. 

He’s standing in the doorway with an old amazon box, which is apparently what the internet said to put the chick in until they can get it a more suitable habitat. His smile looks so happy, Dan can hardly force himself to fake a frown.

“We are not chicken people,” he says.

Phil shrugs. “We could be chicken people.”

He sets the box on the ground, and goes to get old blankets to make the chick comfortable.

\---

They can be chicken people, it seems.

There’s a little bowl of food on the floor, and another little bowl of water, and the little chick is walking around the enclosure they’ve made out of books in the lounge. It pecks the food and water, and then walks over to them, head bobbing, its little eyes unfocused.

Dan wonders if it’s happy.

They went out and got it a last minute heating lamp, and a little guinea pig cage, and more food. 

For right now, Phil scoops it into his hand and pets its little head.

“We should name it,” he says.

“That would form an emotional attachment,” says Dan.

Phil glances at him. He holds the chick up to his cheek, close and cuddly, and offers a smile that has Dan’s heart flipping over his chest.

God dammit. 

“Are you trying to tell me you’re not already emotionally attached?”

He is. Of course he fucking is.

They’re going to end up with a chicken.

“Fine,” he says. “We can name it.”

\---

“Tweety?” says Phil.

Dan frowns. “I’m not naming our chick after one we  _ murdered  _ in a video game.”

It’s stupid, but the chick is asleep in it’s little habitat now, under the warmth of its heating lamp, and Dan’s chest aches at the thought of what happened in that game. It makes him want to scoop it up in his hands and keep it safe.

He needs sleep, probably.

“Good point,” says Phil. “Um, what about Arthur?”

“Arthur was an aardvark. And a weird fucking show. Our chick isn’t weird.”

Phil’s staring at him, gaze soft, fond. “You’re very paternal with our chick,” he says. “I like it.”

Dan feels himself flush. He wants to reach over and cradle the chick again, as though it’ll comfort him.

“I have a name for it, I think,” he says. 

“Go ahead.”

He reaches over, and runs his finger over the bird’s fluff again. “What about Torchic?”

Phil’s smile cracks, wide and happy, across his face. “That’s perfect!”

Dan can’t help but smile, too. He pets the chick one more time, and whispers into the quiet of their lounge: “Sweet dreams, Torchic.”

\---

They do a lot of research in bed that night, huddled around Dan’s laptop. 

There’s web pages about how to take of a chick, and then a full grown chicken, because it’s only been a few hours and already Dan can’t imagine handing Torchic away to a stranger. Phil, he knows, can’t either. He probably couldn’t from the moment he took Torchic from a random person and brought him back to their house.

Suddenly, Dan’s very glad they were adamant about getting a garden when they bought their house.

For a dog, had been the plan. And now, for a chicken, too.

They do research on coops, too. Dan finds a cute one that’s grey with a little red door that they bookmark but don’t buy, not until they can make sure it’s safe for Torchic.

“Tomorrow,” Phil whispers again Dan’s shoulder. They’re half asleep by then, the clock on Dan’s laptop telling him it’s far too late to still be awake.

Torchic must agree, since she’s been asleep for a long while.

“Tomorrow,” Dan agrees. 

He closes his laptop, setting it down on the bedside table. Phil’s still pressed against his side, and his head rests on Dan’s shoulder when they both lay down to sleep.

Dan stares hazily at the door, towards where they set up Torchic’s habitat, until his eyes drift shut.

\---

He wakes up early in the morning to Torchic chirping in the hallway. 

Phil’s still asleep, draped across Dan’s side. He has to be careful when crawling out of bed, trying not to wake Phil up. He slips out of the bedroom, into the hallway, where Torchic’s cage is pressed up against the wall.

She’s eaten some of her food and had a poo since last night, and looks up at him when he walks over.

Dan smiles. “Hello,” he says, high pitched and happy sounding, even to his own ears. “Did you sleep well?”

Torchic chirps.

Behind Dan, the bedroom door opens, and closes. Phil, stumbly and grumbly and still half-asleep sounding, walks over and wraps his arms around Dan’s waist.

“You’re a chicken dad,” he says, giggling against Dan’s shoulder.

“Shut up,” says Dan. He leans back, though, because it’s early and he’s sleepy, softer around the edges than he will be after a coffee and breakfast. 

And because he’s happy.

His hand drifts down so he can grip at Phil’s wrist, holding him in place. “We’re chicken dads,” he says.

It’s a little too sappy, but Phil drops a kiss to his shoulder and Dan’s chest goes warm. 

On the floor, Torchic chirps again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked this cute little thing. I was originally gonna write a Breath of the Wild AU but it got out of hand so I'm gonna turn it into a more fully thought our one-shot, so stay tuned for that and come say hi [.](huphilpuffs.tumblr.com)


End file.
